Equestrian saddles are expensive articles which require significant care during transport and storage. Saddles are made of leather which is a pliable material with a tendency to mold to the shape of its support. If a saddle is supported or laid on a flat surface for a lengthy amount of time, the saddle becomes deformed and unsuitable for placing on a horse's back. Therefore, care must be taken to store expensive equestrian saddles in a position suitable for the saddle. In the case of equestrian saddles, an ideal storage or support device mimics the shape of the animal's back.
Saddle racks are known in the art. For example U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,541,535, 4,356,922, 3,780,971, 3,688,912, 3,305,101, 3,233,745, 2,952,366, and 2,740532 each disclose a hangar or rack suitable for accepting equestrian saddles. All of the racks generally resemble each other and attempt to simulate the ideal support form (i.e., a horse's back). Generally, these patents disclose a tubular member which is bent into a "U" shape. The free ends of the "U" attach to a wall thus providing a horizontal support member suitable for accepting a saddle. Any of these devices would retain the ideal shape of a saddle placed or stored upon it for any length of time. However, each of these patents provides only a stationary rack.
Another difficulty in dealing with equestrian saddles is transporting them. Due to their shape which includes a bulky seat encumbered with long pendular stirrups and straps, equestrian saddles are cumbersome and difficult to transport. Additionally, saddles are heavy. For example, a typical western saddle weighs in the range of about 35 to 40 pounds but some variants can weigh up to about 70 pounds or more depending upon ornamentation. The excessive weight adds to the difficulty of transporting saddles and makes the saddles even more unwieldy. U.S. Pat. No. 3,939,663 discloses a saddle carrier which transports an equestrian saddle without deforming its shape.
Although the '663 patent in part overcomes transportation problems, the carrier does not address another set of concerns present when transporting equestrian and their gear. Namely, the '663 carrier is only useful for transporting one saddle at a time. Oftentimes owners need to transport more than one saddle when travelling to a remote show with more than one horse. Moreover, the '663 patent only discloses a transport device to use this as a storage article is wasteful of space and therefore inefficient. A saddle carrier is needed which is suited for transporting and storing more than one saddle.
The present invention addresses the needs of transporting more than one saddle at a time and provides a combination equestrian saddle rack and carrier. The inventive device is characterized by dual functionality. First, it operates as one unit, and second, it also separates into two units. One unit can transport at least two saddles and another unit, which is a stationary rack, can also accept at least two saddles.